By Joséphine Demos
Audi Field reprised its role as the Washington Spirit’s home-turf back in March. With five home games under their belt, the Spirit have already given Washington fans much to discuss this season.
For the first time since their loss in the playoff finals, the Spirit were set to reunite with their home crowd for the 2025 home opener on March 22nd. For the Washington franchise, the game had potential to be proof of a growing fanbase and unwavering support. Michelle Kang, owner of the Spirit, expressed nervous excitement when discussing the possibility of a sold-out crowd in a pre-game press conference. The press conference also served to announce the three year renewal of the CVS front-of-kit partnership, a historic sponsorship for the NWSL. The deal itself suggested confidence that the momentum the team built up last season is set to last.
As hoped, the game sold out, with an attendance of 19,254: both a home opener record for the Spirit, and the third consecutive sold-out home game. The night represented a win for the Spirit organization, but a loss for the team, who fell 2-0 to the KC Current.
Despite the loss, Tara McKeown, who had just come back from a stint with the U.S. Women’s National Team in the SheBelieves Cup, was happy to be back at Audi with the fans: “I missed it, so I’m just so happy to be back and seeing everyone and all the fans,” she told The Southwester.
The team returned to a fan-filled Audi less than a week later, securing their first home game win of the season against Bay FC (2-0). Both Spirit goals were scored by Ashley Hatch, surpassing Jessica McDonald for 5th most regular season goals in NWSL history. “Rowdy Audi” felt like the Spirit’s hometown stage once again, and players put on a show of exciting play and coordinated goal celebrations for their energized audience.
Back on the road, the Spirit collected two more wins to add to their score sheet for the season before the highly anticipated home game against Gotham NY/NJ.
Unfortunately, Gotham secured the win in this year’s regular season matchup. Trinity Rodman was notably absent, after the team announced a week prior that she would be out indefinitely as she met with a team doctor. Pouring rain and a red card for Head Coach Jonathan Gonzalez added salt to the wound of the loss, but Croix Bethune’s highly anticipated return to the field in the 80th minute, after having been out on a knee injury since last summer, provided fans with hope for better times ahead.
In their next game, also at home, the Spirit faced Angel City FC without their head Coach as a result of his red-card suspension. The Washington team was able to respond to Angel City’s first three goals with three of their own– two from defender Esme Morgan, and another from newcomer Gift Monday– but ultimately, Angel City took back the lead in stoppage time, and the game ended in a 4-3 loss for the Spirit.
Morgan, who scored her first two NWSL goals from the center-back position appeared unsurprised by her role in the offense. “I just had a feeling this morning I was going to score.” she told the Southwester, crediting her pre-game mentality for her performance. “Sometimes you get a feeling for a good game. It’s nice when you have that and every thought going into the game is positive and optimistic. You just play with a lot more freedom.”
Before their next game at Audi Field, the Spirit took on the Chicago Stars in an away game and left victorious, continuing the Spirit’s winning streak in away games this season.
On May 17th, the Spirit came back to Audi. To fans’ delight, Croix Bethune started the match after weeks of subbing in late as she managed her newly recovered knee. Other Spirit standouts, namely Midfielder Hal Hershfelt and Casey Krueger were available to play for the first time since their respective injuries.
The Utah Royals scored early in the first half, but the Spirit took back the lead with two back-to-back goals from Hatch and newcomer Megan Boade. Utah put away two more goals and were set to win the game until Krueger, playing as a fullback, placed a header into the back of the net, equalizing the score in the 102nd minute of the game.
The Spirit’s season so far makes one thing clear: The team is feeling the burn of a long list of injured and unavailable players. However, the unavailability of top players has also made space for new talent to shine. The Spirit’s strength is its ability to operate as a team, redistributing the starpower across the roster. Injury replacements like Boade are being given opportunities to put goals away. Monday, who was added to the roster in late March, is already one of the top scorers for the team this season. Spirit veterans have also stepped up: Hatch’s increased playing time has resulted in her moving up on the league-wide leaderboard for goals scored this season.
Spirit defenders have also not shied away from the limelight. Between Morgan’s two goals against Angel City and Krueger’s equalizer against Utah, the versatility of the Spirit’s back line is an evident strong suit this season. McKeown has also connected crucial passes, tallying up several assists to her name from the back line, and Gabby Carle, of the Canadian National team, continues to excel in all thirds of the field.
The trajectory of the Spirit’s season remains unpredictable, but home games at Audi are sure to be a show not worth missing. Tickets for home games are available for purchase online and at the stadium and streaming options are available for all games.
